Absorbent articles designed to be worn in the crotch of the wearer, including sanitary napkins, pantiliners, and the like, can be used to collect discharges from a woman's vagina or urethra. Many absorbent articles include flaps. Generally, the flaps extend laterally from a main body and are intended to be folded around the edges of the wearer's panties in the crotch region. Thus, the flaps are disposed between the edges of the wearer's panties in the crotch region and the wearer's thighs. Commonly, the flaps are provided with an attachment means for affixing the flaps to the underside of the wearer's panties.
The body facing surface of an absorbent article typically comprises a topsheet. For an absorbent article having flaps, the topsheet of the absorbent article can be thought of as having two portions having functions that differ from one another. Part of the main body portion of the topsheet, i.e. that portion of the topsheet part of which is generally aligned along the longitudinal centerline of the absorbent article, can provide for fluid acquisition and retention. The flaps can help stabilize the napkin from shifting out of place and in some embodiments may help reduce soiling of the wearer's body, undergarments, and outer clothing.
Portions of the topsheet are likely to be in contact with the wearer's body during use. For example, as the absorbent article is worn, the topsheet may contact the labia and surrounding tissue. If the absorbent article has flaps, when the flaps are folded around the edges of the wearer's panty, the topsheet of the absorbent article may contact the surfaces of the wearer's inner thighs. Irritation of the skin can develop at these contact locations if the materials forming the topsheet do not have a soft surface texture and sufficient flexibility or other materials forming the absorbent article are not sufficiently flexible.
Apertured films are widely recognized as providing for topsheets having outstanding fluid handling characteristics, including high rates of fluid acquisition, limited rewet, and limited lateral spreading. Softness of apertured films can be provided for by imparting surface texture to the film. ALWAYS sanitary napkins, marketed by the Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, employ an apertured film topsheet known in the trade as DRI-WEAVE. One drawback to film topsheets is that film topsheets can be more expensive than available alternatives, such as nonwoven materials.
Nonwoven materials can also be employed as the topsheet of an absorbent article. Nonwoven topsheets are thought to provide for a soft body contacting surface and have acceptable fluid handling characteristics. Although nonwoven topsheets tend to be inexpensive relative to available alternatives, nonwoven topsheets may not be without performance limitations. One problem associated with absorbent articles having a nonwoven topsheet and flaps is that fluid collected by topsheet tends to spread laterally within the nonwoven layer. In typical absorbent articles having flaps, there is little or no absorbent capacity in the flaps because the absorbent core typically does not extend to the flaps. Thus, fluid that spreads to the flaps is not drawn more deeply into the absorbent article, which results in soiled wings. Soiled wings can be visually unattractive to the wearer and can contribute to soiling of the wearer's body, undergarments, and outer clothing.
For most absorbent articles, the topsheet is comprised of a single material across the entire body facing surface of the absorbent article. That is, the body facing surface of the flaps is the same as the body facing surface of the main body of the absorbent article. Such a design makes the absorbent article easy to produce because only one web of material needs to be handled during manufacture to form the body facing layer of the absorbent article and fewer bonding locations may be needed to secure the topsheet to the other materials constituting the absorbent article. One limitation of such a design is that the different functional aspects of different parts of the absorbent article, such as the main body portion and the flaps, may be inadequately addressed in such a simple design. Another limitation of such a design is that the design of the body facing surface of the absorbent article may not be as cost effective as desirable, particularly if a relatively expensive material is used to form the entire body facing surface of the absorbent article.
With these limitations in mind, there is a present unaddressed need for an absorbent article in which the materials comprising the body facing surface of the absorbent article are arranged such that the different portions of the body facing surface of the absorbent article deliver the desired function and have the desired attributes. There is a further unaddressed need for an absorbent article in which materials comprising the body facing surface of the absorbent article are selected and arranged to provide for cost effective production.